Rolled plate type cooler



June 6, 1967 M. A. LOWELL ROLLED PLATE TYPE COOLER 5 Sheets-Sheet. 1

` Filed Aug. 19, 1965 TIG. 2

INVENTOR MAHLON A. LOWELL ATTORNEYS June 6, 1967 M` A. LOWELL ROLLEDPLATE TYPE COOLER Filed Aug. 19, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet. 2

IN VENTOR MAH LON A. LOWELL Bm/ @am/m ATTORNEYS June 6, 1967 M. A.LOWELL ROLLED PLATE TYPE COOLER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 19, 1965 m LE W O L A. N. O L H A M @MQWJ ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,323,587ROLLED PLATE TYPE CLER Maillon A. Lowell, Jackson, Mich., assigner toAcme industries, Inc., Jackson, Mich., a corporation of Delaware FiledAug. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 480,892 4 Claims. (Cl. 16S-166) The inventionpertains to heat exchangers, and particu larly relates to a heatexchanger of the rolled plate or spiral plate type wherein the paths ofmovement of the heat transfer medium are of a spiral nature andseparated by a heat transfer plate.

One of the basic purposes of heat exchangers is to provide a maximumarea for heat transfer from one heatconveying medium to another in aminimum of space. The invention pertains to a heat exchangerparticularly adapted, though not limited, to fluid heat exchangecircuits such as used in refrigeration devices which fulfills this basicobject. The heat exchanger of the invention is particularly adaptable asa refrigeration cooler wherein water is being chilled by a refrigerant.

A high efiiciency heat exchanger is produced by forming a conduit from apair of spaced sheet elements having high heat transfer characteristics.The sheet elements are preferably closely spaced whereby a high ratio ofarea contact with the fluid contained therein relative to the volume ofuid is produced. Although this type of heat exchanger has a higheiciency factor, it is not practical in most applications due to itsbulk, inconvenience for handling, and susceptibility to damage.

The invention is directed to a heat exchanger which utilizes theadvantages of plate-type heat exchangers whereby a high contact area tofluid volume ratio can be maintained, yet the heat exchanger is of aconcise configuration, economical to manufacture, and not undulysusceptible to damage.

It is, therefore, an object of the invention to provide a plate-typeheat exchanger, and a method for forming the same, which may be readilymanufactured, is of a concise configuration, and is of an economicalconstruction, while providing high eficiency heat-exchangingcharacteristics.

Another object of the invention is to provide a methody for forming arolled-type plate heat exchanger wherein a plurality of adjacent owpaths are defined and are maintained in unform relationship throughoutthe heat exchanger.

Another `object of the invention is to provide a rolledtype heatexchanger and method of forming the same wherein a minimum of toolingand fixtures are required to manufacture the exchanger and whereineconomical and commercially available components are employed.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a rolled-type plateheat exchanger wherein the heat exchanger may be readily insulated andis of a -concise con figuration as to be easily installed within acompact hous ing or other type of refrigeration circuit shroud.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a rolled-type plateheat exchanger wherein uniform distribution of the heat-exchangingmedium is accomplished throughout the exchanger and wherein lowresistance to flow through the heat exchanger, while maintaining a highheat-exchanging efficiency, is provided.

These and other objects of the invention arising from the details andrelationships of the components of embodiments thereof will be apparentfrom the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the plate, tube and spacer wires, asassembled prior to the plate being rolled,

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the structure of FIG. l,

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating the relationships of cce the plate,tubes and spacer wires during the rolling of the heat exchanger,

FIG. 4 is a plan, sectional view of the completed heat exchangerassembly as taken along section IV-IV f FIG. 5,

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the completed heat exchanger assembly,

FIG. 6 is an elevational, sectional view as taken along section VI-VI ofFIG. 4,

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of another embodiment of heat exchangeremploying the inventive concepts of the invention,

FIG. 8 is a plan, sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 7 taken alongsection VIIIVIII thereof, and

FIG. 9 is an elevational, sectional view of the heat exchangerembodiment of FIG. 8 taken along section IX-IX thereof.

The basic component of the heat exchanger in accord with the inventionis a plate 1t) of an elongated configuration having high heat transfercharacteristics. Preferably, the plate 10 would be formed of copper orbrass,

` and in one embodiment of the invention consists of sheet material .032thick, l2 in height, and 96" in length. The plate Iii may be composed ofa pair of plate elements overlapped and soldered together as at 12, FIG.2. Whether the plate 1li is formed of two interconnected plate elementsor is formed from a single plate element,

is a matter of choice and optional with regard to the concept of theinvention. The plate 1i) is defined by end edges 14 and longitudinaledges 16.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 1 through 6, fourheader tubes are associated with the plate 10 and are transverselydisposed thereto, preferably perpendicular to the length of the plate. Acentral tube 18 is brazed or soldered to one side of the plate at thecenter region thereof, and tube Ztl is afiixed to the other 4side of theplate in the manner which will be appreciated from FIG. 2. At one endregion of the plate 10 a tube 22 is affixed, and at the other end a tube24 is, likewise attached to the plate 10` on the opposite side thereofwith respect to tube 22. Thus, one plate portion is define-d betweentubes 18 and 22 and another plate portion is de-l fined between tubes 20and 24. In the embodiment of FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, the tubes 22 and 24 arereplaced by solid wires, as will be apparent from the description of'the embodiment of FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. Preferably, thev tubes -24 areclosed at their lower ends, as represented in FIG. l, and the tube lowerends terminate at theV lower longitudinal edge 16. The upper ends of thetubes:

extend above the upper longitudinal edge 16 of the plate and may beprovided with elbow fittings, as illustrated.

A plurality of evenly spaced spacer wires 26 are affixed to the plate1t) in a parallel relationship to each other and parallel to thelongitudinal length of the plate. The

spacer wires 26 between the header tubes 18 and 22 are all disposed on acommon side of the plate 1l), as will be apparent from FIGS. l and 2.The spacer wires between the tubes 20 and 24 are disposed on theopposite side of the plate 1t), as will be apparent from FIG. 2. Theinner ends 23 of the spacer wires do not extend to the tubes 13- and 20,but terminate short thereof.

The header tubes are provided with openings 3l) evenly spaced along thelength thereof and so located as to be disposed intermediate adjacentspacer wires 26. This relationship will be apparent from FIG. l whereinthe open ings defined in tubes 18 and 22 are shown. Similar openings aredefined in the tubes 20 and 24 and are related to the spacer wiresmounted on the left. side of the plate 10, in FIG. 2, in a mannercorresponding to the relationship apparent from FIG. l.

The plate, tube and spacer wire assembly of FIGS.` l and 2 is placed ina 'simple fixture whereby the tubes ci 18 and Zt) may be rotated aboutan axis A lying within the plate 1), parallel to the tubes andintermediate the points of contact to the tubes to the plate, FIG. 3.Such a fixture can be readily formed by placing a pair of free endmandrels into the tubes 18 and 2li which are adapted to be rotated aboutan axis corresponding to axis A. The tubes 18 and 20 are rotated in acounterclockwise direction about the axis A, FIG. 3, to wind the platearound the tubes. Such winding will form the spiral convolutions of theplate which are apparent. If desired, a tension in the longitudinaldirection of the plate El@ may be imposed upon the plate itl at the endedges 14, as indicated by the arrows, FIG. 3, which is in a directionopposite to the movement of the plate ends as the plate is wound, inorder to maintain the plate wrinkle-free and to insure a tight windingof the plate. In FIG. 3 the plate 1t) is partially wound and therelationship of the components will be appreciated.

During winding the spacing wires 26 will determine the radial 'spacingof the plate layers. In a commercial embodiment, the wires 26 may be of1/e diameter and are of copper and will, thereby, bend readily toconform to the spiral configuration. As will be apparent from FIG. 6,the spacer wires permit a uniform spacing between the plate coils and,thereby, insure uniform flow characteristics and fluid distribution.

When the plate 1f) is completely wound, the tubes 22 and 24 are brazedor soldered as at 32 to the adjacent outer plate portion to maintain theconvolutions in the tightly wound condition. As will be apparent fromFIG. 4, the tube openings 34) of tube 18 are in communication with thechamber 34, while the openings 30 defined in the header tube 20 are incommunication with the charnber 36. The chamber 34 communicates with thespiral flow path leading to the inner tube 22 and the chamber 36communicates with the spiral fiow path conveying fluid to the tube 24.

After the plate has been wound into the configuration shown in FIG. 4,an upper cover plate 4f) is placed on the upper edges 16 of the platelll and a lower cover plate 42 is placed on the lower edges 16. Theplates 40 and 42 are sealed to the upper and lower edges, respectfully,of the plate 1t) to seal the ends of the heat exchanger and to seal theadjacent flow paths with respect to each other. While the ends of theheat exchanger may be sealed by the plates 40 and 42, it is alsopossible to seal the ends by merely filling the ends of the heatexchanger With solder. Such an operation is possible, in that theuppermost and lowermost spacing wires 26 are adjacent the upper andlower edges 16 of the plate and, thus, with the upper and lower edges ofthe plate define a space readily adapted to receive solder or othersealing means such as epoxy, etc.

Thus, upon attaching fittings, such as the elbows 38 on the ends of theheader tubes, a refrigerant may be introduced into the heat exchangerthrough the tube 22 and withdrawn therefrom by tube 18. A fluid to becooled by the refrigerant, such as water, may be introduced into theheat exchanger through tube 20 and removed at tube 24. In this manner ofconnection, a counterfiow circuit is provided. If desired, a jacket 44may encompass the heat exchanger for purposes of insulation andprotection.

While the spacing wires 26 will prevent any significant transverse ow ofthe refrigerant or water relative to the plates, the fact that theheader tube openings 30 communicate between each spacing wire preventsthe flow through the heat exchanger from being restricted and insuresuniform flow through the exchanger. lf it is desired that transverseintermingling of the fluid within a flow path be accomplished, thespacing wires 26 can be provided with holes, notches, or breaks topermit intermingling of the refrigerant or water within a common flowpath. Of course, the basic purpose of the spacing wires 26 is tomaintain a uniform spacing between the adjacent wound plate coils. It isconceivable that with improved Winding techniques the number of spacingWires required can be reduced from the number shown and, in sorneinstances, may be completely eliminated. However, as a presesuredifferential between the refrigerant circuit and the water circuit oftenexists, it will usually be desirable that spacing means of one type oranother be used to strengthen the heat exchanger assembly and preventundue inflation or collapse of the coile-d plate.

A variation of apparatus employed in the inventive concept of theinvention is illustrated in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. In these figurescomponents similar to those previously described are indicated byprimes.

The plate ltl, header tubes 18 and 2Q', and spacer wire assemblyutilized in the embodiment of FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 is identical to thatpreviously described except that rather than employing the outer headertubes 22 and 24, solid wires 46 are aixed to the ends of the plate 10.When the plate is fully wound the solid wires 46 are soldered to theouter plate coil as at 48 to maintain the wound configuration. The endsof the heat exchanger coil are enclosed as by end plates 40 and 42',respectively, or the ends may be soldered as previously mentioned. Aplurality of holes 50 are defined in the heat exchanger plate 10adjacent one of the wires 46, and a plurality of similar holes 52 aredefined in t-he heat exchanger plate adjacent the other solid wire 46,FIG. 9. These holes are related to the spacer wires 26 as to be disposedintermediate the wires, as will be apparent from FIG. 9. A header tube54 is disposed adjacent the holes 5t) and a header tube 56 is disposedadjacent the holes 52. The header tubes 54 and 56 are provided with aplurality of holes 58 which align with the respective holes defined inthe plate adjacent the ends thereof, and the header tube holes and theplate holes are interconnected by short conduits 60. Thus, theconfiguration of the head exchanger embodiment of FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 willbe appreciated from FIG. 7.

The refrigerant may be introduced into the heat exchanger through theheader tube 54 and removed therefrom by `header tube 18. The water to becooled may be introduced into the heat exchanger at tube 20 and removedat tube 56. The coiled plate -portion of the heat exchanger of theembodiment of FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 may be encased within a reinforcing andinsulating jacket, if desired.

It will, therefore, be appreciated that the rolled plate heat exchangerof the invention utilizes the high efficiency characteristics of a plateexchanger while keeping the exchanger to a compact configuration andsize. By varying the height of the plate and the length thereof, a Widevariety of capacities of heat exchangers may be provided withoutrequiring major changes in the manufacturing equipment and technique.The flow path through the exchanger has been found to be of anon-restrictive nature, and a heat exchanger constructed in accord withthe invention of a given capacity may be of a significantly smallersize, as compared with more conventional heat exchangers of similarcapacity.

It is appreciated that various modifications to the invention may beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritand scope thereof, and it is intended that the invention be defined onlyby the sco-pe of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A heat exchanger comprising, in combination,

(a) a heat exchanging coil formed by a pair of spirally wound plateportions having ends and longitudinal edges, said plate portions beingwound about a common axis in a like direction defining a pair ofadjacently disposed spiral flow paths, said coil having a center and aperiphery,

(b) a pair of first conduits extending into the center of said coilsubstantially parallel to the axis of said coil, said conduits ibeinglocated on opposite sides of said plate portions,

(c) a port dened in each of said first conduits within the contines ofsaid coil and in communication with a ow path, whereby said rst conduitscommunicate with different ow paths,

(d) said longitudinal edge defining coil ends, means sealing theadjacent longitudinal edges of said plate portions to each other tothereby seal the ends of said coil,

(e) means sealing said -plate portion ends with respect to the adjacentouter plate portion forming a portion of the coil periphery,

(f) a pair of second conduits disposed adjacent the periphery of saidcoil,

(g) port means dened in each of said second conduits communicating withsaid flow paths adjacent said periphery, the port `of one of said secondconduits communicating with one ilow path and the ports of the othersecond conduit communicating with the other flow path, and

(h) a plurality of spaced, parallel, elongated spacer elements axed toeach of said plate portions spaced between and parallel to saidlongitudinal edges maintaining the radial spacing of the plate portionscoils, said spacer elements on a common plate portion 'being located ona common side thereof and the spacer elements of one of said plateportions being on the opposite side thereof with respect to the spacerelements located Ion the other plate portions, said .spacer elements oneach plate portion being spaced apart such a distance and related to theassociated plate portion such that upon said plate portions being woundabout said common axis spacer elements of one of said plate portionsradially align with spacer elements of the other plate portion in theaxial direction olf said coil, said spacer elements engaging theadjacent plate portion when wound about said common axis permitting saidfiow paths to be adjacent each other and of a radial dimensioncorresponding to the radial dimension of said spacer elements.

2. A heat exchanger comprising, in combination,

(a) a heat exchanging coil formed by a pair of spirally wound plateportions having ends and longitudinal edges, said plate portions beingwound about a common axis in a like direction dening a pair ofadjacently disposed spiral ow paths, said coil having a center and aperiphery,

(b) a pair of rst conduits extending into the center of said coilsubstantially parallel to the axis of said coil, said conduits beinglocated on opposite sides of said plate portions and extending betweenthe plate portion longitudinal edges,

(c) a plurality of ports defined in each of said rst -conduits axiallyspaced along the length of said conduits and in communication with aflow path whereby said rst conduits commuicate with different tlowpaths,

(d) said longitudinal edges dening coil ends, means sealing the adjacentlongitudinal edges of said plate portions to each other to thereby sealthe ends of said coil,

(e) means sealing said plate portion ends with respect to the adjacentouter plate portion forming a portlon of the coil periphery,

() a plurality of spaced, parallel, elongated spacer elements aixed toeach of said plate portions spaced between and parallel to saidlongitudinal edges maintaining the radial spacing of the plate portionscoils, said spacer elements on a common plate portion being located on acommon side thereof and the spacer elements of one of said plateportions being on the opposite side thereof with respect to the spacerelements located on the other plate portion, said spacer elements oneach plate portion being spaced apart such a distance and related to theassociated plate portion such that upon said plate portions being woundabout said common axis spacer elements of one of said plate portionsradially align with spacer elements of the other plate portion in theaxial direction of said coil, said spacer elements engaging the adjacentplate portion when. wound about said common axis permitting said ilowpaths to be adjacent each other and oit a radial dimension correspondingto the radial dimension of said spacer elements, said spacer elementsbeing of a length substantially equal to that of the longitudinal lengthof the associated plate portion and subdividing said flow paths into aplurality of passages,

(g) a pair of second conduits disposed adjacent the periphery of saidcoil substantially parallel to the coil axis and aligned with the coildimension de lined by said longitudinal edges, and

(h) a plurality of ports dened in said second conduits axially spacedalong the length thereof, the ports of eaoh second conduit communicatingwith a different flow path and the ports of said first and secondconduits being disposed intermediate said longitudinal edges as to lieintermediate adjacent spacer elements for communication with said flowpaths passages.

3. ln a heat exchanger as in claim 2 wherein:

(a) said second conduits are located within the connes of the peripheryof said coil.

`4. In a heat exchanger as in claim 2 wherein:

(a) said second conduits are located exteriorly of the connes of saidcoil,

(b) a plurality of openings detined in said plate portions adjacent saidends, said openings being located intermediate said spacer elements,

(c) said common conduit ports communicating with said openings.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,131,265 9/1938 Bichowsky165--165 2,136,086 11/1938 Rosenblad 165-166 2,136,153 11/1938 Rosenblad165--165 2,193,345 3/1940` Rosenblad 165--166 2,217,316 10/ 1940Kallstenius 16S-167 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,058,090 11/1953 France.

835,008 3/1952 Germany.

778,541 7/ 1957 Great Britain.

102,545 9/ 1941 Sweden ROBERT A. OLEARY, Primary Examiner.

M. A. ANTONAKAS, Assistant Examiner.

1. A HEAT EXCHANGER COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, (A) A HEAT EXCHANGINGCOIL FORMED BY A PAIR OF SPIRALLY WOUND PLATE PORTIONS HAVING ENDS ANDLONGITUDINAL EDGES, SAID PLATE PORTIONS BEING WOUND ABOUT A COMMON AXISIN A LIKE DIRECTION DEFINING A PAIR OF ADJACENTLY DISPOSED SPIRAL FLOWPATHS, SAID COIL HAVING A CENTER AND A PERIPHERY, (B) A PAIR OF FIRSTCONDUITS EXTENDING INTO THE CENTER OF SAID COIL SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLELTO THE AXIS OF SAID COIL, SAID CONDUITS BEING LOCATED ON OPPOSITE SIDESOF SAID PLATE PORTIONS, (C) A PORT DEFINED IN EACH OF SAID FIRSTCONDUITS WITHIN THE CONFINES OF SAID COIL AND IN COMMUNICATION WITH AFLOW PATH, WHEREBY SAID FIRST CONDUITS COMMUNICATE WITH DIFFERENT FLOWPATHS, (D) SAID LONGITUDINAL EDGE DEFINING COIL ENDS, MEANS SEALING THEADJACENT LONGITUDINAL EDGES OF SAID PLATE PORTIONS TO EACH OTHER TOTHEREBY SEAL THE ENDS OF SAID COIL, (E) MEANS SEALING SAID PLATE PORTIONENDS WITH RESPECT TO THE ADJACENT OUTER PLATE PORTION FORMING A PORTIONOF THE COIL PERIPHERY, (F) A PAIR OF SECOND CONDUITS DISPOSED ADJACENTTHE PERIPHERY OF SAID COIL, (G) PORT MEANS DEFINED IN EACH OF SAIDSECOND CONDUITS COMMUNICATING WITH SAID FLOW PATHS ADJACENT SAIDPERIPHERY, THE PORT OF ONE OF SAID SECOND CONDUITS COMMUNICATING WITHONE FLOW PATH AND THE PORTS OF THE OTHER SECOND CONDUIT COMMUNICATINGWITH THE OTHER FLOW PATH, AND (H) A PLURALITY OF SPACED, PARALLEL,ELONGATED SPACER ELEMENTS AFFIXED TO EACH OF SAID PLATE PORTIONS SPACEDBETWEEN AND PARALLEL TO SAID LONGITUDINAL EDGES MAINTAINING THE RADIALSPACING OF THE PLATE PORTIONS COILS, SAID SPACER ELEMENTS ON A COMMONPLATE PORTION BEING LOCATED ON A COMMON SIDE THEREOF AND THE SPACERELEMENTS OF ONE OF SAID PLATE PORTIONS BEING ON THE OPPOSITE SIDETHEREOF WITH RESPECT TO THE SPACER ELEMENTS LOCATED ON THE OTHER PLATEPORTIONS, SAID SPACER ELEMENTS ON EACH PLATE PORTION BEING SPACED APARTSUCH A DISTANCE AND RELATED TO THE ASSOCIATED PLATE PORTION SUCH THATUPON SAID PLATE PORTIONS BEING WOUND ABOUT SAID COMMON AXIS SPACERELEMENTS OF ONE OF SAID PLATE PORTIONS RADIALLY ALIGN WITH SPACERELEMENTS OF THE OTHER PLATE PORTION IN THE AXIAL DIRECTION OF SAID COIL,SAID SPACER ELEMENTS ENGAGING THE ADJACENT PLATE PORTION WHEN WOUNDABOUT SAID COMMON AXIS PERMITTING SAID FLOW PATHS TO BE ADJACENT EACHOTHER AND OF A RADIAL DIMENSION CORRESPONDING TO THE RADIAL DIMENSION OFSAID SPACER ELEMENTS.